Truly Strong
by CleverCover
Summary: In a graveyard, Sasuke, with some help from Naruto, finally finds peace on the death of his parents and his lonely childhood, while finding true strength in the simplest of things. A friendship or a budding romance...your decision.


Disclaimer: "Okay, read from the paper."

"What?! Where am I? Why is there no light in the room? Where's Naruto?! I was promised Naruto!!!"

"Just read the damn paper!"

"Fine…jackass…I don't own Naruto™. He belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. Can I have a Naruto plushie at least?"

"Yeah, get out. NEXT!"

"Stupid lawyers and their stupid disclaimers…." 'cuddles Naruto plushie'

This is my first anime one-shot ever. It just so happens to be a Naruto one-shot, centered around Sasuke and Naruto.

I'm letting the reader choose to put this as a strong friendship or a budding romance. One friend wanted it romance, the other a friendship. --

Thanks to my friends for reading this and looking it over. They gave me the confidence I needed to put it online.

Okay, I'll shut up now and let you read. Ja. 

Oh, and Naruto and Sasuke should be about 20 in this fic. Itachi has been dead for two years.

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_**Truly Strong**_

In the Konoha graveyard stood Uchiha Sasuke, in blue shirt and white pants, holding two purple irises in hand. He stood before a grave, none too fancy, currently debating his position. Should he just drop the flowers and run or actually go through with it? The first suggestion seemed pretty good at that point.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his rival/team mate/best friend, Uzumaki Naruto, in all his normal orange shirt and blue pants, walking towards the training grounds. Sasuke always thought the reason the training grounds and the graveyard were so close together was to give the ninjas another reason to train harder. Anyway, Naruto saw our conflicted Sasuke and waved, but Sasuke turned away. He knew this would cause the blond to come running over and sure enough the blond was next to him in three seconds.

"Hey Sasuke-teme. Whatcha doing here in the graveyard?" Naruto asked, looking around. The place was deserted except for one old guy that was on a bench, sleeping…I think.

"Why would anyone be in the graveyard, Dobe?" Naruto finally looked down and actually read the headstone.

Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto

May their souls rest in peace and their wishes

continue on in their son, Sasuke.

The village of Kohona will deeply miss their golden presence.

No one will ever forget and they will be avenged.

"Ooooohhh. Well aren't you going to leave the flowers and…" Naruto paused, his finger on his chin.

"and what, Dobe?" Sasuke looked away from the stone to Naruto.

Naruto suddenly jerked. "Stop calling me that, bastard! Anyway, well, don't you cry. I thought that's what people do for their loved ones." Naruto looked at the ground, a rock suddenly more interesting than Sasuke's reaction at the moment.

Sasuke looked back at the headstone. "Itachi always said never to show weakness. Crying shows weakness." He whispered.

Naruto looked back up and faked a shocked look. "You still follow a dead man's rules…and such morbid rules at that."

"You know what 'morbid' means. Wow, you're smarter than you look." Sasuke raised his eyebrow and smirked.

"I'm not that stupid! Now go ahead and cry." Naruto pouted, but Sasuke still just stood there. "No one will think any less of you. In fact, I think it makes you look stronger…"

Sasuke stared at Naruto, looking in his eyes for any sign of joking, but he found none. In the deep ocean of Naruto's blue eyes, all he found was a sincere answer. He looked back to the tombstone, clutching the flowers as if it were his last lifeline. In the background, he heard Naruto mumbling. "Show your parents you actually cared about them. That those years with them weren't a complete waste. Mourning shows respect for the dead, something you damn Uchihas want so much. Sheesh, at least be happy you actually knew your parents."

Sasuke dropped to his knees in front of the tombstone, dropping the flowers onto it and closed his eyes to bring a flood of memories of his parents, smiling, laughing, holding him close, at the best of times and the worse, and finally on their death. He saw him sitting in his cold room, all alone with only his promises of revenge to surround him. He saw his attempts to stop crying, to show his supposed strength. Suddenly, he felt his eyes burn and water trickle down his face. It took him a while to realize he was crying, the sensation new to him.

He spent a good five minutes crying, realizing some of his pent up feelings and Naruto kneeled down to pat Sasuke on the back When Sasuke finished, they both looked up into the blue sky, a smile gracing both their faces.

"Hey did you lose all your angst yet?" Naruto grinned and Sasuke glared. "Should have known it would be too good to be true." Naruto slapped his forehead. Sasuke replied again with his patented Uchiha deathglare™.

Naruto stood up first. "Okay teme, let's go sparring." He was really saying. (You okay now?)

Sasuke stood up and brushed away the dirt on his pants. "Sure, I'll kick your ass like I did yesterday." (Yeah, I'm fine.)

"Yeah right! Just you wait! You'll be limping home today!" (Are you sure?)

"Hn. Just like yesterday." (Yes.)

"You mean like two days ago. Let's go! We're burning daylight." Naruto grabbed Sasuke's wrist and dragged him to the training fields, Naruto grinning and Sasuke smirking.

"For the first time in a while, I truly felt strong…like I could face anything now. I haven't felt that way in a long time…even after I killed Itachi. Thanks Naruto, for helping me find true strength." Sasuke thought as their began there usual fight on the "battlefield". At least that's what it looks like when they were finished.

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Back at the graveyard, on the Head Uchiha tombstone, Sasuke's flowers still clung to the tears that had fallen onto them. Meanwhile, a beam of light suddenly gave the flowers an ethereal glow, as two spirits, both wearing blue clothing with the Uchiha clan symbol, stood behind it. The two spirits, a male and a female, smiled as they looked at the, now wet, purple irises. They could finally move on now that their son has found some peace, and hopefully he would find more as he got older. Now to deal with that defiant older brother of his. Before they left, they noticed an old man, standing before them, only his body was still on the bench.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"Come follow us. You're dead." Fugaku coldly replied.

"Knew it would happen. Only a matter of time left after your wife goes. 'Kay you young whippersnapper, take me to my wife! Heaven or bust!"

Of course, they would have to drop off someone before they got to beat the living daylights out of their murderer/son. Stupid conscience…

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A/N: Kinda sappy and short isn't it. Oh well it is a one-shot and you'll still review right, like you just press the lovely purple button.

Please!!! 'puppy dog pout' The line thing is not working!!! Why is the line thing not working?! Anyways... --'

AnimeMiko15 over and out.


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